Marinated Lebnah Cheese with Fresh Herbs
Flecked with herbs and drizzled in olive oil, this creamy cheese is a wonderful appetizer; just pair with fresh bread.
Ingredients:
2 cups Farm & Larder Lebnah cheese
½ cup high-quality olive oil
3 tablespoons minced fresh herbs, such as tarragon, parsley and chives
½ teaspoons grated lemon zest
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Roll cheese into ½ -inch balls. Place in small jar or bowl.
2. Whisk oil, herbs, and lemon zest in a small bowl to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Pour mixture over cheese in jar. Cover; place in refrigerator and let marinate for at least 8 hours and up to 2 weeks.
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Celery Root & Potato Purée
This beautiful side dish is a delightful spin on traditional mashed potatoes.
Ingredients:
1-2 celery roots, trimmed, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1-1½ pounds fingerling potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes
2 cups chicken broth or water
2 cups whole milk
3 garlic cloves, peeled
3 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Combine first 7 ingredients in heavy large pot. Add enough water to cover. Sprinkle with salt. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer with lid slightly ajar until vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Drain; return to pot. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Stir over medium heat to dry vegetables. Using potato masher, mash the vegetables until coarsely pureed and then add in the butter. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm.
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Sautéed Beets & Swiss Chard Greens
Cooked in butter and wine, this comforting side dish makes use of both flavorful beets and beet greens.
Ingredients:
4-6 Chioggia beets with greens
1 bunch rainbow Swiss chard
3 tablespoons butter
1 shallot
2 tablespoons dry white wine
2 tablespoons water
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Crumbled goat cheese (optional)
Method:
1. Scrub and peel beets. Remove the greens and chop coarsely. Set the greens aside in a large prep bowl. Slice beets into ¼-inch rounds. Remove the ribs from the Swiss chard and coarsely chop and toss into bowl with the beet greens.
2. In a large sauté pan, melt butter. Sauté shallots. Add beet rounds to the shallot butter mixture. Crack some pepper over the beets and a toss in a pinch of salt. Reduce heat and sauté beets, turning over occasionally to ensure even cooking.
3. Cook for about 15 minutes or until beets begin to glaze and become tender; add greens and chard. Sauté for about 5 minutes, then add wine and cover. Cook until greens are wilted, adding water if necessary. Allow liquid to be mostly absorbed into greens, adjust seasonings. Garnish with fresh-cracked pepper and crumbled goat cheese, if desired.
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How-To: De-Seed a Pomegranate
Originally from Iran, this beautiful winter fruit boasts juicy seeds that are often tricky (and messy) to extract. Here’s our fail-safe method for avoiding stained fingers.
Supplies:
1 pomegranate
Sharp kitchen knife
Medium-sized mixing bowl
Method:
1. Using the knife, slice the pomegranate in half on a plastic cutting board. (The juice will stain a wood board.)
2. Fill the mixing bowl halfway with lukewarm tap water and drop in both fruit halves. Let sit for 1 minutes, then gently start peeling away outer rind and white fleshy albedo with your hands. As you peel, the seeds will sink to the bottom of the bowl, while rind and albedo will rinse to the top.
3. Remove all rind and albedo, then drain excess water from the bowl. Reserve seeds.
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Baked Cardoon
Similar in taste to an artichoke, cardoon is an Italian favorite. Here, the celery-like stalks are baked with fresh bread crumbs and nutty Grana cheese.
Ingredients:
4-6 cups cardoon*, sliced into thin pieces
1 cup grated Grana cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
Freshly-squeezed lemon
Method:
* To prep cardoon, discard tough outer stalks and remove any leaves. Cut the stalks into 3-inch pieces, removing all strings, and immerse the trimmed stalks into a bowl of water to prevent discoloration. Flash-boil trimmed stalks in water (to extract some bitterness) for approximately 3-5 minutes until slightly tender. Remove from heat, let cool, and prep as described above.
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly grease a shallow 9 by 13-inch gratin dish. Arrange the cardoon pieces in a single layer at the bottom of the pan, then top with bread crumbs, Grana and parsley.
2. Season, to taste, with the salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Place in the oven and bake until the top is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon.
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Prosecco-Poached Pears
This simple poaching method produces a beautifully-light dessert.
Ingredients:
4 Bosc pears
2 cups prosecco
½ cup honey
1 ½ cups water
Pinch of salt
Method:
1. Peel pears (optional); cut each in half lengthwise and remove cores (a melon baller works well for this).
2. In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring to a simmer. Add the pear halves, and gently poach the pears until they are just tender. Remove pears to a shallow pan. Reduce the poaching liquid under medium high heat until it is a syrup, and then drizzle over the pears.* You can serve the pears immediately while still warm with a scoop of ice cream and their syrup, or they can also be served at room temperature with a small cookie and a dollop of crème fraîche.
* The pears can also be refrigerated at this point. To serve, the pears can be reheated in their syrup, or served chilled.
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Butternut Squash Bisque
Creamy and supremely satisfying, this butternut squash-based soup is spiced with cinnamon, cayenne and thyme.
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
2½ cups chicken stock
1 cup half & half
3 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon fresh silver thyme, chopped
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Method:
1. In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium. Add onion, garlic, thyme, cinnamon, and cayenne. Season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Add squash, broth, half-and-half, and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook until squash is tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Working in batches, purée in a blender until smooth. Stir in lemon juice; season with salt. Serve bisque with sour cream, garnished with cayenne, if desired.
d store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
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Homemade Sauerkraut
This super-simple recipe requires just a few select ingredients (and a little patience).
Ingredients:
5 pounds green cabbage, shredded
3 tablespoons pickling salt
1 tablespoon juniper berries
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 quart water, in a glass jar
Method:
1. In large mixing bowl, mix cabbage thoroughly with salt, juniper berries, and caraway seeds, using hands or tongs. If using your hands, make sure that they are very clean prior to mixing. Let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Pack cabbage mixture down into a large plastic food container. Top with a lid smaller than the opening of the container and place a glass jar filled with the quart of water on top of the lid. Place in cool area overnight (65 to 70 degrees F). In a day, the cabbage should have given up enough liquid to be completely submerged. The jar serves as a weight to keep the cabbage submerged and away from air.
3. Check cabbage every other day for approximately 2 weeks and skim the surface of scum, if necessary. Let stand for 4 weeks. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
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Roasted Squash Seeds
Pumpkins aren’t the only fall squash with delicious seeds to roast: Butternut, Red Kuri and many others have seeds worthy of crisping up in a hot oven.
Ingredients:
1 squash of your choice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400°. Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds, using your fingers to separate the seeds from the stringy flesh. Put seeds in a large bowl.
2. Cover seeds with cool water and and swish around. Pull off any bits of squash still clinging to the seeds. Drain squash seeds and shake off any excess water. Spread on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels and dry thoroughly.
3. Put seeds in a bowl and toss with vegetable oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat thoroughly.
4. Spread seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast until golden and crispy, about 15 minutes. Let cool at least slightly and serve warm or at room temperature.
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Braised Cabbage with Caramelized Onions & Apples
This simple recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart is wonderful side for chicken, beef or pork.
Ingredients:
1 head Gunma green cabbage
2 medium tart apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
2 Cipollini onions, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
6 tablespoons butter
¾ cup apple cider vinegar
¾ cup water
Sea salt
Method:
1. Melt butter in a medium stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sugar and salt, and stir to dissolve. Add apples and onion, in as close to a single layer as possible. Turn to coat in butter mixture. Let cook, shaking pan occasionally and turning over once, until sugar is beginning to caramelize and coat the apples and onions, about 10 minutes.
2. Add cabbage, vinegar, and water. Bring to just a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until cabbage is tender and liquid is reduced to a syrup, 25 to 30 minutes. If necessary, remove lid in the last 5 minutes and cook, uncovered, to reduce liquid to desired consistency; most of the apples will disintegrate.
3. Transfer to a bowl and serve immediately.
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